IPE 389 | Global Struggles Over Intellectual Property

This course examines a wide range of contemporary struggles over global intellectual property, especially patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Drawing upon and contrasting the disciplines of political science, economics, law, and cultural studies, the course examines how rules governing intellectual property have been established, who benefits from them, and how some people are using political power - and law-breaking - to try to achieve alternative intellectual property systems. Some specific cases that will be analyzed are struggles over generic medicines in developing countries, counterfeiting, music and software piracy, and "bio-piracy."